Transport for London has appointed the Transport Research Laboratory to carry out “a completely independent trial” of the technologies which it hopes will help efforts to cut the number of people killed and seriously injured on London’s streets.

The laboratory will work with TfL, bus manufacturers and operators to test the effectiveness of several new safety measures including:

Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems that allow the vehicle to detect its surroundings and automatically apply the brakes

Features to alert pedestrians and other road users of the presence of buses, such as lights or audible warnings

A re-design of the front of buses, which could reduce the impact of a collision

Changes to bus interiors to improve passenger safety, such as higher-grip flooring and softening sharp corners

Improvements to vision for drivers, including improved mirror design

TfL says results from the trials will feed into a new Bus Safety Standard to be incorporated into bus operator contracts from the end of 2018.

London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, Val Shawcross, said: “Nothing is more important to the Mayor than the safety of Londoners.

“We are doing our utmost to make the streets of the capital safer and these measures can potentially make big improvements to bus safety.”

Leon Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: “We are determined to drive down the unacceptable number of people injured or killed on London’s roads, and make streets safe for pedestrians and cyclists

“Not a day is being wasted in working towards Vision Zero and this trial is part of our comprehensive programme to make road deaths caused by London buses a thing of the past.”

She said: “I am delighted about the announcement from TfL regarding the new safety technology which is part of the Bus Safety Programme.

“It is vital that TfL remain committed to reducing the number of collisions and incidents caused by buses in London that result in serious injury and death.

“I hope the new safety technology will help TfL achieve this.”

]]>51544Sadiq extends Boris Johnson’s Pocket Living deal to fund hundreds of new affordable homeshttp://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/sadiq-extends-boris-johnsons-pocket-living-deal-to-fund-hundreds-of-new-affordable-homes/
Tue, 15 Aug 2017 09:45:51 +0000http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/?p=51531Hundreds of additional new ‘affordable’ homes are to be built after Mayor Sadiq Khan extended a funding deal agreed between predecessor Boris Johnson and developers Pocket Living.

The firm builds ‘micro homes’ which are often pre-made off-site and sold to local people at capped prices, typically around 80% of market rate. Future onward sales of the properties are also governed by these restrictions thanks to a covenant attached to them in perpetuity.

In 2013 Johnson agreed a £26m revolving ten-year loan to acquire land and build 1,000 new homes, 277 of which are now complete. Construction on a further 388 is currently underway.

Mayor Khan has now pledged an additional £25m alongside a “re-allocation” of the Johnson money to form a total investment of £51.4m which will fund “at least 1,059 additional affordable housing starts by the end of March 2021.”

However, while not mentioned in City Hall’s announcement, internal documents confirm that Khan’s repackaged deal, unlike the money pledged by the former Mayor, will also fund a number of homes to be sold at full market rates.

Today’s announcement also omits any mention of the existing Pocket Living and City Hall tie-up or the 665 homes being built under it, instead hailing the expanded funding as an “innovative deal”.

In a statement, Mr Khan said: “The housing crisis is the biggest challenge facing Londoners today and I have been honest from the start that we won’t be able to turn things round overnight.

“For decades, we have simply not built enough new and affordable homes in the capital, meaning that for too many Londoners the dream of buying their own home is getting further and further out of reach.

“That is why I am working with Pocket Living to build more than a thousand homes for first-time buyers, using the latest off-site construction techniques to provide attractive and affordable homes as quickly as possible.”

Andrew Boff, the Conservatives’ housing spokesman on the London Assembly, said: “The Mayor’s announcement fails to mention this ‘innovative scheme’ is merely an extension of a £26.4m deal with Pocket Living initiated by Boris in 2013.

“It also fails to mention that not all of the homes built under the renewed agreement will be affordable.

“Once again we are seeing more smoke-and-mirror spin from Sadiq Khan.

“I’ve long been a supporter of modular housing and I welcome additional funding for it.

“I just wish the Mayor would be transparent about what he’s actually doing.”

As well as providing evidence to support convictions, the cameras also boost police transparency and accountability and provide officers with protection against malicious and unfounded complaints by providing video evidence of their actions and encounters with the public.

Cameras have already been issued to more than 17,500 frontline officers across the Met’s 32 boroughs, as well as to officers in specialist teams such as the Roads and Transport Policing Command, the Territorial Support Group and the Dog Support Unit.

Around 1,000 cameras will be issued to armed officers under the latest expansion, starting with those assigned to armed response units, who will wear the devices on their baseball caps and helmets.

Commander Matt Twist, in charge of the Firearms Command, said: “Officers who carry an overt firearm as part of their role very much welcome the use of Body Worn Video.

“It provides a documented and accurate account of the threats officers face and the split second decisions they make.

“The cameras also offer greater transparency for those in front of the camera as well as those behind it.”

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, added: “Body Worn Video is a huge step forward in bringing our capital’s police force into the 21st century and building trust and confidence in the city’s policing.”

“This technology is helping to drive down complaints against officers across London and will make a real difference to those carrying firearms, increasing accountability and helping to gather better evidence for swifter justice.

“As we complete the London-wide rollout, the cameras will also provide our officers with confidence in the transparency of their actions, as they continue their great work on the frontline fighting crime and keeping our city safe.”

]]>51522Saracens to provide London’s Emergency Services staff with 10,000 free ticketshttp://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/saracens-to-provide-londons-emergency-services-staff-with-10000-free-tickets/
Fri, 11 Aug 2017 13:19:12 +0000http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/?p=51515Rugby club Saracens are offering members of the capital’s Emergency Services 10,000 free tickets to watch September’s London Double Header clash in which the club will take on Northampton Saints, and London Irish play Harlequins at Twickenham Stadium.

The North London club says the offer is “a show of support for the inspiring work the London Emergency Services continue to provide the people of London.”

Club bosses are teaming up with the Metropolitan Police, London Ambulance Service the London Fire Brigade to offer full and part-time workers up to eight tickets each, allowing them to take friends and family with them.

A dedicated website link will be communicated to personnel through each service’s existing communications channels.

Saracens CEO, Heath Harvey, said: “We would like to illustrate our gratitude and thanks for the wonderful work our emergency services do on a daily basis in this great city by offering them free entry to one of the biggest days in the domestic rugby calendar.

“We recognise the work that they do and hope that in a small way we can help highlight just how much we as a Club and a City, appreciate them.”

Metropolitan Police Federation Chairman, Ken Marsh said: “Our thanks go to Saracens RFC for this generous offer – we have no doubt it will be a brilliant day for all involved.”

]]>51515Despite his attempts at spin, credit for a 4G connected Tube belongs to Theresa May, not Sadiq Khanhttp://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/despite-his-attempts-at-spin-credit-for-a-4g-connected-tube-belongs-to-theresa-may-not-sadiq-khan/
Thu, 10 Aug 2017 10:17:49 +0000http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/?p=51496“Transport for London working to bring mobile connectivity to London Underground” declared a City Hall press release issued today to big up Mayor Sadiq Khan’s commitment “to boost digital connectivity across the capital and tackle London’s areas of poor connectivity”.

However while the release contains some new Mayoral initiatives, the Tube’s forthcoming 4G connectivity isn’t one of them.

The service will be a by-product of a Home Office decision to axe the current Airwave system used by the UK’s 999 services and award EE a contract to build a 4G-based replacement.

In light of the public funding, EE announced in June 2016 that rivals would be given access to those parts of its network built with the Home Office cash.

Nationally the project is being managed by the Home Office, but TfL has a key role to play in ensuring that the necessary infrastructure is in place to ensure the British Transport Police and, if there was an incident, any other blue light services on the Tube can communicate to colleagues elsewhere on the network or above ground.

While TfL answers to the Mayor, in this instance it’s working to support a policy initiated by Theresa May when she was Home Secretary, not Sadiq.

Anyone interested in the substance, rather than today’s shameless attempt at spin, might like to read this transcript of last month’s London Assembly Q&A with representatives from the Home Office, BTP, Met, TfL, London Ambulance and the Fire Brigade.

]]>51496Watch Live: Sadiq Khan faces the London Assembly at Mayor’s Question Time from 10AMhttp://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/watch-live-sadiq-khan-faces-the-london-assembly-at-mayors-question-time-from-10am/
Thu, 10 Aug 2017 08:16:22 +0000http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/?p=51491London Assembly Members will this morning question Mayor Sadiq Khan on a range of topics, including:

Helping councils in London to build more new homes

The practice of Uber drivers lending their vehicles to other drivers

Whether Mayoral housing policies are meeting the demands of Londoners

]]>51491British Transport Police – force finally reveals how many armed cops it employshttp://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/british-transport-police-force-finally-reveals-how-many-armed-cops-it-employs/
Wed, 09 Aug 2017 08:20:26 +0000http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/?p=51477I hadn’t planned to write further about the British Transport Police for a while – it was clear from my dealings with it that the force wasn’t enjoying my Freedom of Information requests or the resulting coverage and so I thought it sensible to have a small pause.

But this morning the force made a welcome u-turn on its refusal to say how many armed officers it employs.

In response to my original FOI asking for the number, data which is published by the Home Office for every other force operating in England and Wales, BTP claimed that this information was exempt on the grounds of public safety.

Justifying that decision, it told me:

“If British Transport Police were to publish figures relating to AFOs based in the same area, that would have the effect of breaking down the numbers to divisional level and enable members of the criminal fraternity or individuals or groups intending to carry out acts of terrorism to map resources available.

“If coupled with further requests relating to other areas, the effect of this would be multiplied. British Transport Police’s area of jurisdiction covers geographically the whole of England, Scotland and Wales and is policed by approximately 3000 police officers.

“The Metropolitan Police are responsible for policing the Greater London area and have over 32000 police officers.

“It can therefore be seen that there is far greater harm that could potentially be caused by releasing information that could allow for the mapping of the resources or capabilities of British Transport Police compared to those of the Metropolitan Police who have far more officers concentrated over a far smaller area.

“Again, these risks are magnified when dealing with specialist resources such as Authorised Firearms Officers”

It went on:

“The public interest is not what interests the public, but a test of whether the community benefit of possession of the information outweighs the potential harm.

“In this case, we have identified that there would be a small benefit to the public by the release of the information concerned. However, there is a very strong factor favouring non-disclosure, this being the negative impact on the effectiveness of the police force in being able to respond to incidents successfully, to detect crime and to combat the ongoing threat from terrorism.

“If there is a risk that the future law enforcement role of the force could be compromised and the public’s safety be put at risk, it cannot be justified that the public interest would be served in releasing this specific information if either of these aspects were to be compromised in any way.

“I have determined that the disclosure of the requested information would not be in the public interest. I believe the harm considerations and the importance of the factors favouring non-disclosure outweigh the public interest in disclosing the information. My decision, on balance, is that it would therefore not be in the public interest to release this information.”

However this response was undermined by oral testimony from the force’s Deputy Chief Constable, Adrian Hanstock, who earlier this year told MPs that the entire BTP armed contingent “is purely in London at the moment.”

This testimony spurred me into pushing back and requesting an Internal Review of the response.

As I said in my IR request, “Unless DCC Hanstock misled MPs – highly unlikely – it’s hard to see how your grounds are valid because there are – based on his testimony – no AFOs outside the capital.”

In a welcome move towards sanity, the reviewer has agreed and overturned the initial FOI response. BTP has now provided the number:

“The total number of British Transport Police’s Authorised Firearms Officers is 151. These officers operate not only in London and the South East but can travel across the force dependent on operational requirements.”

Those officers sit alongside the Met’s 2,139 and City of London’s 48 (as of the Home Office’s latest update covering 2016).

BTP’s handling of the request is a good example of how some public bodies default to claiming wide-ranging FOI exemptions which don’t withstand scrutiny or challenge.

Sadly those who fund BTP – ultimately fare and tax payers – have had to cover the cost not just of the original FOI but also the Internal Review in order to have this information, which is routinely published by every other public police force in the UK, released.

BTP managers need to look again at their overly defensive and patently resentful approach to public accountability and the release of information and understand that being paid for by the public means being answerable to the public.

]]>51477Government report into road casualties delayed due to Met and TfL data hitchhttp://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/government-report-into-road-casualties-delayed-due-to-met-and-tfl-data-hitch/
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 13:51:50 +0000http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/?p=51470May 2014: Officers from the Met’s dedicated roads taskforce carrying out a high profile safety exercise near Tower Bridge.Transport for London says it’s working with the Met to avoid repetition of a data hitch which has delayed publication of a government report on the level of road casualties across Britain.

Changes to how the force records road casualties means it’s taken longer than expected to pass the necessary data on TfL to verify and transfer to the Department for Transport for inclusion in its report.

The issue first came to light in response to a question from Liberal Democrat Peer Baroness Randerson who asked ministers for the reasons behind the report’s delay.

In response, transport minister Lord Callanan said the Met’s data “makes up around 15% of the road casualty dataset for Great Britain” and is such a “significant component of the national total” that the report could not be published without it.

A TfL spokesperson said: “This information is currently being verified and it’s anticipated the Department for Transport’s national figures and our 2016 Casualties and Collisions in Greater London factsheet will be published at the end of September.”

]]>51470Defence Secretary honours TfL’s work to support Britain’s armed forceshttp://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/defence-secretary-honours-tfls-work-to-support-britains-armed-forces/
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 09:16:15 +0000http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/?p=51458Image: WO2 Dan Harmer / MoD/Crown copyright 2017Transport for London has been named one of the UK’s best organisations for helping former military service personnel into civilian work and supporting reservists among its staff.

The capital’s transport agency is one of five London-based employers to receive a Gold award in the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme which honours organisations which have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and demonstrated “outstanding support” for current and former service personnel.

The other London recipients are the Metropolitan Police Service, Combat Pest Control, X-Forces and FDM Group.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said: “These companies have shown the gold standard of commitment to supporting members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families.

“They have taken meaningful steps to ensure the Defence community are not disadvantaged by the sacrifice they make in helping keep this country safe.

“The actions of these employers make it crystal clear that regardless of size, location, or sector, employing people with military skills is good for business.”

Welcoming TfL’s success, transport commissioner Mike Brown said: “We are delighted to be recognised with this prestigious award for the work we have undertaken supporting ex-service personnel make the transition into civilian employment.

“The technical expertise and skills that they have developed during their military service, such as problem-solving and working under pressure, are ideal for a number of roles within the transport industry and we are proud to count them amongst our employees.”

Speaking about his own experiences of moving from the Royal Navy to TfL, Richard Perkins, Assistant Project Manager for the modernisation of the Circle, District, Hammersmith & Metropolitan lines at London Underground, said: “I used to work in the Armed Forces as a Royal Navy Submariner, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do next.

“I attended one of TfL’s industry fairs, which was specifically for people like me trying to transition into civilian employment.

“It made me realise that I wanted to work in the transport industry and that the skills I had developed in the navy, like resilience and time management, were exactly what they were looking for when recruiting.

“I now work as an assistant project manager, ensuring that new signal equipment rooms are built on time and budget.

“It was a learning curve when I started, but I love my job and the responsibility that comes with it.”

]]>51458Sadiq welcomes government’s approval of London Overground’s extension to Barking Riversidehttp://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/sadiq-welcomes-governments-approval-of-london-overgrounds-extension-to-barking-riverside/
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 09:01:16 +0000http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/?p=51434An artist’s impression of the new Barking Riverside station. Image: TfLMayor Sadiq Khan has welcomed the Government’s decision to approve the London Overground’s extension to Barking Riverside, a project which will support a major redevelopment of the area, including the building of almost 11,000 homes.

In addition to the new homes, up to half of which will be “affordable”, the redevelopment will also provide a new school and healthcare facilities, as well as commercial and leisure spaces.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling approved the extension last week, clearing the way for construction to start next summer. Transport for London says it expects passenger services to begin “in late 2021”.

The 4.5 kilometre, £263m extension is being majority funded by developers Barking Riverside Limited, a joint venture between London & Quadrant New Homes and City Hall. The remaining funding will be provided by TfL.

The extension will provide the area’s new residents with a fast and reliable transport link, with passengers benefiting from four air-conditioned and walk-through trains an hour, helping to ensure their comfort and safety.

Mayor Khan said: “This is wonderful news for East London. Barking Riverside has huge potential to deliver thousands of much-needed affordable homes, and the extension of the Overground will ensure residents have the high-quality transport links they need, both to the surrounding area and commuting into central London.”

Alex Williams, TfL Director for City Planning, added: “Being given the green light by Government for this London Overground extension is fantastic news for the Barking Riverside development, helping breathe new life into the area and enabling up to 10,800 vital new homes, along with the creation of new healthcare and leisure services.”